Chris Granger/The Times-PicayuneLouis Coleman will start for LSU against Texas in the College World Series on Monday.

OMAHA, NEB. - LSU and Texas, two of college baseballs powerhouses, collide beginning Monday at 6 p.m. in the College World Series championship round.

Both teams will go with their ace pitchers. Righthander Chance Ruffin (10-2, 3.27 earned run average) will start for Texas and righthander Louis Coleman (14-2, 2.68) for LSU in the first game of a best two-of-three series. All games will begin at 6 p.m.

Texas owns six NCAA baseball championships and LSU five, second and third behind USC's 12 titles. LSU is actually tied with Arizona State for third.

LSU Coach Paul Mainieri has faced Texas only once - his first game as a coach at Notre Dame. Omaha World Herald columnist Tom Shatel has an interesting take on Mainieri in today's local paper.

On the surface it looks like power ball vs. small ball. LSU has hit nine home runs in three games and has 103 for the season.

The Associated PressTexas survived a tough bracket to move on to the CWS championship series where it will face LSU.

Texas plays the small ball game under former Cal State Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido. But it didn't look that way Friday.

Texas rallied for a 4-3 victory against Arizona state with solo home runs in the ninth inning by Cameron Rupp and Connor Rowe. Rupp tied the game with a 408-feet blast over the batting eye in centerfield and then Rowe won it in walk-off style with a blast to left.

Texas hit three home runs in that game, giving the Longhorns 45 for the season and six in the CWS. Rupp leads the Horns with 11 overall. The low total is mostly atrributable to the large ballpark Texas plays in.